The VVCep stars all have very massive components on very wide orbits. The
orbital solution for VV Cep itself gives an orbital period of 20.3 yrs, an
orbital separation of 24.8 AU, and individual masses of 18.2 M\(_\odot \)  and
18.6 M\(_\odot \)  for the M supergiant and the B-type companion, respectively
[1]}. Of interest to us is the fact that in VVCep
stars, the Balmer lines, and H\(\alpha \)  in particular, may be seen in
emission, with a line profile reminiscent of that seen in Be stars (in which
the emission comes from an equatorial ring-like shell formed by material
leaving the hot star which is rotating close to break-up velocity). While
the hot component in VVCep dominates the spectrum in the blue, that of the M
supergiant takes over at red wavelength. With an H\(\alpha \)  in emission
superimposed, it could be questioned whether any of our new SySt may indeed
belong to VVCep stars. This, however, can be safely excluded on two
independent grounds.
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